VITAMIN B3 Niacin
What is Vitamin B3?
What conditions has it been used to treat?
What is Vitamin B3?
Other names : Niacin, Nicotinic Acid, Niacinamide, Nicotinamide, Inositol Hexaniacinate.
Niacin is part of a group of vitamins called B complex. There are eight B vitamins all together and they were at one time thought to be just one vitamin.
Research has shown that they are indeed all slightly different in structure.
The other seven B vitamins that make up B Complex are :
They share similar characteristics; they are all water-soluble, they are all essential in enabling the body to use energy from food and they are all vital for the production of normal tissue.
Niacin is a white powder that is water-soluble and is the toughest of all the B vitamins making it more resistant to destruction than the others. Vitamin B3 or niacin (as it is called), comes in two basic forms: one is called nicotinic acid and the other is called nicotinamide (nicotinamide is also called niacinamide).
They both perform pretty much the same functions but it is nicotinic acid that has an ability that nicotinamide/niacinamide doesn't; nicotinic acid has the ability to lower cholesterol levels although it does produce some side-effects that are not found with nicotinamide/niacinamide. Those who need high dosages of niacin are often prescribed inositil hexaniacinate.
Where is it found?
Peanuts, brewer's yeast, and meat contain the most niacin. A small amount of this vitamin can be found in whole grains too.
Why is it needed?
Needed to maintain a healthy skin, gastrointestinal tract and a healthy nervous system.
It is used by the body in the process of releasing energy from carbohydrates.
It is needed to form fat from carbohydrates and break down alcohol, it is involved in over 200 enzymatic reactions in the body.
What happens if you are deficient?
A lack of this vitamin can affect every cell in the body. It is carried in the blood and found in all the tissues with the greatest concentrations found in the liver, kidneys, heart, brain and muscle.
Pellagra is a disease caused by a deficiency in both niacin and tryptophan with symptoms including dermatitis, dementia, loss of appetite, beefy tongue, emotional problems, sun-exposed skin becomes very dark.
Generalised weakness and fatigue are also symptoms of deficiency.
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